How to Succeed in Witchcraft
Ratings4
Average rating3.5
An overachieving teen witch vies for a prestigious scholarship at her elite high school in this contemporary YA fantasy for fans of Never Have I Ever and Sabrina the Teen Witch!
Magically brilliant, academically perfect, chronically overcommitted...
Shay Johnson has all the makings of a successful witch. Now that she's a junior at T.K. Anderson Magical Magnet School, she's one step closer to winning the full-ride Brockton Scholarship--her ticket into the university of her dreams. Her main competition? Ana freaking Alvarez. The key to victory? Impressing Mr. B, drama teacher and head of the scholarship committee.
When Mr. B persuades Shay to star in this year's aggressively inclusive, racially diverse musical--at their not-quite-diverse school--she agrees, wearily, even though she'll have to put up with Ana playing the other lead. But with rehearsals underway, Shay realizes Ana is...not the despicable witch she'd thought. Perhaps she could even be a friend--or more. And Shay could use someone in her corner once she finds herself on the receiving end of Mr. B's unpleasant and unwanted attention. When Shay learns she's not the first witch to experience his inappropriate behavior, she must decide if she'll come forward. But how can she speak out when the scholarship--and her future--are on the line?
An unforgettable debut, How to Succeed in Witchcraft conjures up searing social commentary, delightfully awkward high school theater, and magical proclamations of love.
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This is the kind of book that I wish had been around when I was younger. And while it was a fun read it also covered some very serious topics. Shay is a young, sapphic witch. Very hard working, very intelligent, very much has her eyes on the prize. She's a junior in high school and she wants (and needs) the scholarship to the college of her dreams. In her pursuit of this she agrees to be part of a school play, even though she has plenty on her plate...and then come to find out the other lead is her school rival. In between all of this, Shay has to deal with exhaustion as she over extends herself, racism, and a teacher who may have acted inappropriate on more than one occasion. She learns along the way that she may have more people in her corner then she thought and that doing the right thing isn't as easy as it seems.
While the book is fantasy, that part of the story feels very contemporary and just part of the every day life. And I like the way that flowed because it made it feel real. For a debut novel, this was an absolute win.
‘lesbian witch stars in a musical and takes down creeps' is just a concept that ticks so many boxes for me
